Sherwood Begs Fans to Come as Ramsey Plans Pint with Villa Boss

Aston Villa vs QPR 2015

As both Villa and QPR looked to pick up points in their relegation battles on Saturday, only one result was surprising. Unfortunately, it was QPR who defied predictions with their 4-1 win against West Brom at the Hawthorns. Still, with our bad record at Old Trafford it’s unlikely that defeat there crushed the team’s spirit too much – can Villa live up to the pressure with a win this Tuesday?

Villa have only won one of the last eight home games in the league

Sherwood on QPR

“This is without doubt the biggest game of the season for Villa – and the biggest game possibly for a number of years for this football club.

“We plead with our fans to come and be on side. They were fantastic with us when we played West Brom in the double header.

“We need them to be exactly the same tomorrow night. If we can match the performance of the fans we will be alright.

“The nerves and anxiety have got to be there for the lads. The boys know the severity of the situation about where we are. That’s natural.

“Tuesday night, Villa Park, under the lights, against QPR, to move six points clear of them – enjoy it, relish it. That’s what they need to do.

“Don’t be frightened to get beat. If they play with the ability they can show and they match the performance of our fans, we will win.”

Ramsey on Sherwood friendship

“It will be strange as we will probably have a pint later in the week.

“The game isn’t about me and Tim. It’s about Aston Villa and QPR.

“I saw the speculation and saw how well he did at Tottenham – Villa did well to get him.

“I think Tim did have negotiations with a few clubs but he was very sought-after when he left Tottenham.
Anyone would have wanted him outside the top four.”

Ramsey on Villa 

“We are going to approach the game in the same way as we have done in the past.

“We are hoping that we can be as clinical as we were on Saturday.

“We want to put pressure on the teams around us. The pressure is equal.

“I would rather be going into the game with the advantage [Villa] have rather than us. We have more pressure.”

Memory Match

16th March 2013 Villa 3 QPR 2

Ex-Villan Jenas opened the scoring the last time QPR headed to Villa Park but thankfully goals from Agbonlahor, Weimann and Benteke saw us take a valuable three points.

Villa– Last five matches at home: W 1, L 4

QPR – Last five matches away: W 2, L 3 

Villa have never lost to QPR in the Premier League

One to Watch

Charlie Austin – Scored against the Baggies on Saturday and recorded a brace when Villa headed to Loftus Road. Has scored 16 goals and got four assists in the league – quite an achievement when playing for a team in the relegation zone.

Facts to Sweep Under the Carpet

A defensive approach is often the sensible tactic at Old Trafford and you couldn’t blame Sherwood for the way he set his team up on Saturday considering the form of van Gaal’s men.

Still, it was disappointing to see just how little Villa offered in attack, a smart Benteke goal aside.

Albeit against lesser opposition we’ve seen dazzling attacking displays from Sherwood’s Villa so we know the team are capable enough.

It seems though that inconsistency is the problem though, and despite a mini-resurgence under Sherwood we’ve lost our last two league games and only won one of our last eight league home games.

This match will be seen as winnable by the Villa faithful but it does seem that QPR’s fortunes are slowly changing. Earlier on in the season they were known for their woeful away form, but their two league wins since Christmas Day have both been recorded on the road. Nothing groundbreaking admittedly, but after their last win in the Midlands the momentum could be with the London side at a nervous Villa Park.

The likely absence of Sinclair and Hutton, two of this season’s best performers, is yet another worry.

‘I saw the speculation and saw how well he [Sherwood] did at Tottenham – Villa did well to get him’ – Ramsey

What We Pray the Football Gods Will Provide

Against a team like Manchester United, if you’re going to get a lucky break you need to have that creativity. With that in mind, it is strange that January signing Carles Gil has not featured more for Sherwood’s side.

His performances under Lambert were a rare highlight and with Sherwood not exactly blessed with attacking options, it would be nice to see the Spaniard show what he can do.

Weimann was called upon to join the attack against United at the weekend but his frustrating performances prompted fans to again question the omission of the ex-Valencia winger.

Hopefully Sherwood mixes things up a bit on Tuesday and gives Gil a chance to shine.

Villa have won the last five Premier League encounters against QPR at Villa Park

Why Villa Have Got This Game in the Bag

The history books suggested it would be a long afternoon at Old Trafford and unfortunately nothing changed.

Hopefully though our record at home to QPR continues on Tuesday as past encounters have, more often than not, ended pretty well.

The home win against QPR in Lambert’s first season (as featured in the above memory match) was crucial in ensuring our Premier League status at the time and win would be massive in keeping us in the division this season.

Sherwood has shown he can motivate Villa against teams around us in the table and might know what to expect from a QPR side managed by his ex-Tottenham assistant.

Despite the last two results, the manager has definitely had a positive effect. overall Christian Benteke for instance has scored four goals in his last four league games. Before that he scored three goals in 21 matches.

As the manager alluded to, this could be one of the biggest matches for Villa in years, though thankfully history isn’t kind to QPR. They haven’t won consecutive away matches since 1995, while Villa have won all of the last five previous league meetings at Villa Park.

Hopefully it’s a case of déjà vu for Sherwood’s team.

UTV.

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